Infinite Force
Hammer Of Light
Covenant of the Phoenix Alliance
152
   |
Posted - 2012.09.25 18:18:00 -
[1] - Quote
Bart Starr wrote:Combat ships balance between EHP, firepower and speed.
Exhumer balance between cargospace, yield and EHP.
Cargohold is the most favored 'trait' in an Exhumer, which makes it important.
But don't take my word for it, the miners have already shown us.
I've scanned thousands of Exhumers, and other gankers can easily back this up:
In high-sec, the vast majority of Exhumers (Hulks/Macks) were cargo-fit.
Cargo fits vs Yield fits vs EHP fits were approximately 6:3:1, in my estimation.
Why? Likely because miners enjoy maximizing the number of cycles before being required to move ore.
It increases the 'AFK-ness' of an Exhumer - highly desirable....even in a fleet where you have a cargo Orca standing by.
The idea that the Hulk's lack of EHP and cargohold is somehow balanced by 'being in a fleet with combat ships' is flawed because it simply doesn't jive with how mining (and suicide ganking) works in practice.
Gankers were rarely stopped or deterred by the presence of warships nearby, and ganking (while widely complained about) was rare enough that the theoretical 'mining guard' might as well been mining himself. After all, what is the 'guard' going to do? Suicide ganking happens in seconds, is initiated by the ganker, the ganker is going to die, and arty kills instantly.
The 'balance' that the Hulk receives from being in a fleet is simply illusory - which is why Mackinaws are used in fleets as well as solo.
Like I said, it appears that CCP weighted the value of 'Yield' too heavily - ignoring the simple fact that Cargospace is what miners desire most.
Simply for the sake of argument - you could probably give the Mackinaw the worst EHP AND the worst Yield (make it 1-3-3) - yet people would still fly it in droves because of the 35K cargo capacity is so convenient.
No need to go that far - but we are going from a situation where we saw at least 2 of the 3 Exhumers used..... to a one-size fits all high-sec mining industry.
QFT
There were a few of us that told CCP before they made these changes to the barges, that the Mack would become the new 'king of the hill' (so to speak). You can look up the posts if you're desperate. Did CCP listen? Not really. I like a few of the things that were put out there, but are the barges truly balanced? Not really.
For me, I rank Yield > Space > EHP. Why?
I am one of those 'crazies' that likes to mine in WH's. No local, no way to tell if that cloaky SB has been camping the grav site for the past couple of days. No way to tell (other than d-scan) if someone is probing to find me.
For dangerous mining ops, you want to get in, get the ore and get out. I mine in hulks for the best yield -- and let me assure you that in a Rorqual boosted op when you're controlling 6+ toons, there is NO SUCH THING as "afk" mining. I'm either a) spamming d-scan b) moving ore to a jetcan c) spamming d-scan or d) targeting new rocks / changing crystals.
Periodically, I have the Ore picked up.
Are there a bunch of "obvious" signs (cans/barges on scan) that some op is occurring, sure, but by maximizing your yield, you are also minimizing your exposure thereby maximizing your safety (as much as it can be done).
I have a fleet of Skiffs, Macks & Hulks and have seriously considered flying Macks just because the larger Ore hold eases the logistical nightmare in trying to dump ore to jetcans (and to all you 'use an Orca' whiners out there, go self-destruct your ship). Until CCP fixes their nightmarish UI coupled with a 1.25 cycle Hulk Ore hold, trying to dump Ore to an Orca with multiple other Hulks is not even remotely "fun".
If you can't relate to that last statement, you are not in a proper mining op and have no grounds for any "rebuttals."
HROLT CEO
Live Free; Die Proud
Hammer Mineral Compression - The only way to go! |